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[Dark Souls] If only I could be so grossly incandescent (as Durante) - Res fix in OP

Hmm, thinking on it now and reading the info on the wiki, is it really worth it to upgrade a shield? For instance, the ONLY stat that increases with the Dragon Crest Shield is the "Stability." However there is not description of what Stability does. It DOES list "Guard Break Reduction," so I'm assuming "Stability" is just a shorter description for that particular info tab as Guard Break Reduction is not on any tab. The DCS's unmodified Stability is 55. At +5, the Stability goes up to 66. Is that a huge difference? I'm honestly not sure how to determine if that's a worthwhile upgrade at the cost of 10 Twinkling Titanite.

It's worth it IMO. 55 to 66 is a pretty big difference, but not "huge."

Hmm, thinking on it now and reading the info on the wiki, is it really worth it to upgrade a shield? For instance, the ONLY stat that increases with the Dragon Crest Shield is the "Stability." However there is not description of what Stability does. It DOES list "Guard Break Reduction," so I'm assuming "Stability" is just a shorter description for that particular info tab as Guard Break Reduction is not on any tab. The DCS's unmodified Stability is 55. At +5, the Stability goes up to 66. Is that a huge difference? I'm honestly not sure how to determine if that's a worthwhile upgrade at the cost of 10 Twinkling Titanite.

It's worth it IMO. 55 to 66 is a pretty big difference, but not "huge."

Stability determines how much stamina you lose when blocking. If there was a shield with 100 stability (there isn't), you would be able to block anything without losing any stamina at all.

Stability is one of the most important stats when deciding on what shield type and shield you want to use. There are other factors of course but a shield that only weighs 3lbs and has good stability and 100% physical damage reduction goes a very long way. Increasing from 55 too 66 is also a full 20% upgrade.

It's the difference between you blocking an attack and shrugging it off with time to recharge and getting your guard broke and dieing.

Of course, stability isn't the only thing to factor in when choosing a shield. You also need to consider stat requirements, weight, and its resistances. Also, a couple shields have special features (like Grass Crest Shield increases your stamina regen rate).

okay, so, after getting my trashed kicked in repeatedly by knights and the monsters after that fire bridge incident (you know which one), I've decided to rescind my "no asking for tips or huge helps" oath and I have the following questions:

1) I realize that the classes aren't really isolated, but which one makes it easiest to start? I started as pyromancer but the fact that the starting spell can't hit anything that's not within 10 feet is annoying as all get out. That, and it gets caught on all manner of world geometry. Am I missing something crucial with my spell targeting?
2) What is the best starting power/item? I got the Witch Ring and spoiled myself reading online what it does but it doesn't appear to do anything hugely significant.
3) Am I supposed to avoid certain enemies (like the huge knight dudes) and worry about them later? I was able to cheese one with fire but there's one at the top of a tower that I can do absolutely nothing to because my fireball refuses to hit anything but the cold stone when I'm trying to hit him with it.
4) Any other tips?

OK, so upgrading the Dragon Crest Shield is the right move as it 's my go-to shield. It's light, offers great fire resistance and the 100% damage reduction is awesome. Other shields are just situational (Spider for poison/toxin resist, Eagle for Lightning). Thanks for all the infos!

OK, so upgrading the Dragon Crest Shield is the right move as it 's my go-to shield. It's light, offers great fire resistance and the 100% damage reduction is awesome. Other shields are just situational (Spider for poison/toxin resist, Eagle for Lightning). Thanks for all the infos!

Yeah, as far as light shields go, Dragon Crest Shield is pretty solid. Only really major weakness is that it's very weak versus magic.

okay, so, after getting my trashed kicked in repeatedly by knights and the monsters after that fire bridge incident (you know which one), I've decided to rescind my "no asking for tips or huge helps" oath and I have the following questions:

1) I realize that the classes aren't really isolated, but which one makes it easiest to start? I started as pyromancer but the fact that the starting spell can't hit anything that's not within 10 feet is annoying as all get out. That, and it gets caught on all manner of world geometry. Am I missing something crucial with my spell targeting?
2) What is the best starting power/item? I got the Witch Ring and spoiled myself reading online what it does but it doesn't appear to do anything hugely significant.
3) Am I supposed to avoid certain enemies (like the huge knight dudes) and worry about them later? I was able to cheese one with fire but there's one at the top of a tower that I can do absolutely nothing to because my fireball refuses to hit anything but the cold stone when I'm trying to hit him with it.
4) Any other tips?

1) Pyromancy is actually one of the best classes to start with because you get pyromancy far earlier than you would otherwise. Certain spells have specific firing arcs to them that require some getting used to. Also, the timing of the spells make some of them suicide to use up close.

2) Master Key is usually regarded as the best starting item because it essentially lets you sequence break the game and get some great items far earlier than you normally would.

3) It is always possible to ignore some enemies (Black Knights, Titanite Demons, etc.) because they're almost always going to be tough. Black Knights get easier once you've killed a few, but they, like any enemy in the game, will give you trouble if you don't stay on your toes. For the one on the tower, stay locked on to him (click the right stick), and you can usually get a fireball off after he takes his giant swing.

4) Take it slow, take it easy, try to find a bonfire, get the Drake Sword, once you get to the first smith, upgrade whatever you can, do not go into the big church until you find the smith/bonfire, turn human and summon help when you do finally go into the church.

The black knight at the top of that tower is one of the easier ones I've faced off against, especially if you've got the Drake Sword. Just roll around his attack animations and swing away and he goes down fairly quickly. The later ones get harder to kill, but like any DS enemy, it's just about learning their moveset. You should always spend time with a new enemy figuring out what you're going to have to deal with. You might die a time or two, but once you know what you're up against it gets much easier to handle future encounters.

Don't be too intimated to take a shot at anything, no matter how tough it looks. Just find the closest bonfire and make sure you can get back to the area easily for retrieval if necessary.

Also, make sure you get a shield that blocks 100% physical damage, and keep that thing in front of your face at all times.

Black Knights (and Havel) are tough to defeat early because they can easily break your guard if they hit you and they deal high damage and have higher life than most other enemies.

As a low level character with low resistance and poise, your options are usually limited to dodging and then backstabbing (effective with the Drake Sword, but can take a while with weaker weapons) and/or using magic/pyromancy. You could also summon someone to help you deal with them, but it's sort of cheesy since there are so many people running around in twink gear who can one-shot those foes.

If it's your first playthrough I'd advise skipping those early Black Knights until you ring the Blighttown bell and get a feel for the way combat works.

Actually, I think the first Black Knight in the Undead Burg is great practice for combat in the game if you aren't used to it. I lured him out of the area he was in, up the stairs and back to the spot where there are three Hollows (one with firebombs, two with weapons). It's a large enough area to maneuver around him and get some backstab practice.

The difficulty of Black Knights early to mid game really depend on the where you fight them which influences how you fight them. For example, by the time you go back to the asylum you have dealt with several black knights, but those tight corridors in the asylum can make them a pain in the ass to deal with.

The difficulty of Black Knights early to mid game really depend on the where you fight them which influences how you fight them. For example, by the time you go back to the asylum you have dealt with several black knights, but those tight corridors in the asylum can make them a pain in the ass to deal with.

If you get right up in their faces they almost always go for a shield bash/thrust combo attack, which is easy to back away from. Then step in and swing or magic away. Rinse and repeat.

I just tanked them, like a man. I could also tank Havel... well. I could take 1 attack (with a 100% Phys defense shield. Anything else and he killed me at full health), but it was enough to get a strike in, then run away like a little girl in metal boots.

Well Dark Souls is basically one non-linear open world, so apart from area names, no.

Semi-true. The Dark Souls wiki's Area page lists what seems to be the "correct" (if you're playing linearly and without the Master Key) progression. At least, this seems to be the natural progression of the game based on rising difficulty -- with the exception of the placement of The Great Hollow and Ash Lake. Those two areas are optional and very difficult due to the geometry of The Great Hollow and the power of the (whopping four) enemies in Ash Lake. The Great Hollow has a TON of Crystal Lizards, however.

So far I am midway (?) through Sen's Fortress, and reading back over the order of that area listing, I can say that it's absolutely correct in terms of "story" progression. I visited those areas (and more) in a different order and acquired tons of items that you wouldn't get normally without actually exploring, though. I also visited and cleared (with the exception of that fucking wolf) Darkroot Basin and Darkroot Garden prior to clearing Blighttown.

roll/dodge underneath its sword and attack while standing under it. Eventually one of the legs will go limp and it will start walking instead of jumping all over the place. But the real trick is to get as close as you can, not attack from a range.

Ah, thanks for the tips! I only gave him one try when I was messing around the other day. Of course, I JUST rested at the Sen's Fortress bonfire and I have zero desire to fight my way back out again right now. I'll have to save Sif for later.

I always assumed the world of Dark Souls was the Land of Giants from Demons'ss's's'''s Souls. Or at least, Anor Lando is, based on how giant everything is there.

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Ah, thanks for the tips! I only gave him one try when I was messing around the other day. Of course, I JUST rested at the Sen's Fortress bonfire and I have zero desire to fight my way back out again right now. I'll have to save Sif for later.

Have you found the shortcut back down yet? If you jump over to the merchants tower and go down to the bottom you'll find a key. That key opens one of the hanging cages in the area, which lowers you right back down to the bottom of Sen's Fortress. Handddddy.

The Drake Sword really doesn't hold up past a certain point, so it's not like it ruins the game. It just makes the opening areas easier to deal with, which, as Koopah mentioned, is nice for players who are struggling with the game as it can help them get a handle on things and press on.

I didn't even know about the drake sword or really any of the systems in the game so after getting beaten by the gargoyles like 5 times it was refreshing to have someone clue me in on both the sword and on turning human to summon someone to help me with the boss.

So I can see it being a confidence boost in that early "WTF am i doing" part.

The Drake Sword is good early on but there are plenty of other options to become powerful early on.

Faith-based? You can grab Astora's Straight Sword even earlier than the Drake Sword and it's nearly as powerful.

Int-based? The Hydra is one of the easiest early bosses in the game and if you beat it, you can get the Oolacile Catalyst and Crown of Dusk which will make your sorceries extremely powerful for how early you can get it. Oh and they're both really light as well.

Str-based? Grab a Zweihander at the beginning of the game and wreck face.

Or you have one of my favorites, the Light Crossbow. Easy to get and low stat requirement. Upgrade it to +5 and buy a bunch of cheap wood bolts and you have a weapon that's almost as powerful as the default Drake Sword except it's long-range. I think a lot of people overlook this weapon for the early game because it only starts out with 50 power not realizing that A) you also add the bolt's power to it and B) it gets a huge boost in power with the first upgrade (jumping from 50 to 85) and the moderate boost after that (usually +15 with each upgrade).

Speaking of the Hydra, I keep getting my toosh kicked by it as a sorcerer. I have all my most powerful magic defense stuff and have tried the "kite its water attacks while slicing heads in the water" strategy yet he sometimes pulls off 4 direct hits with the water thing and I die. Any tips?

Speaking of the Hydra, I keep getting my toosh kicked by it as a sorcerer. I have all my most powerful magic defense stuff and have tried the "kite its water attacks while slicing heads in the water" strategy yet he sometimes pulls off 4 direct hits with the water thing and I die. Any tips?

Don't kite it. Get close to it in the water and it'll just use its melee attack which can be easily blocked with a shield. It helps if you have the ring that lets you move freely in water so that you can get close to it so it'll use the melee attack, then run to hack at the heads and then run back close to it. Also, if you're really close to it, if it does use the water attack, they'll just fly over you.

But be careful not to get so close to it that you fall off the underwater cliff and drown.